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logbook loan - fraud?
Apologies if posted before, I will try to be as generic as possible because I know the parties involved.
Party A obtained a legitimate logbook loan on their vehicle from a well-known company. This was circa 15 months ago. The salesman from the company was very friendly and during conversation, tried to relate to A with personal similar circumstances. A is relatively young, and under pressure. A is a law graduate but working in retail in a well-known supermarket.*
Alarm bells were ringing for me when A said this salesman was pushy, telling A to email the logbook loan company and say they were either a qualified solicitor, probation officer, doctor, nurse or similar "otherwise they wouldn't get the loan" but the company accepted A, and even though they did so, and even when A said they were unsure, the salesman sent such an email for A. The salesman also said he knew of a "secret team" who could "offer the finance if this well-known company rejected A". But that A "must never mention it"
The salesman persuaded A to sign something for other peoples' logbook loans. A did so because of the sob story the salesman gave. A signed their name, address, and either signed or circled the word 'solicitor' onto 9 of these documents because they were asked to. The salesman assured A that this was all fine and just to appease their boss. A did not know what they were signing until afterwards when the salesman said they are filed in the high court. A felt if they did not do this, their own logbook loan might be in jeopardy or cancelled. We now know that this saved the salesman money in solicitors fees!!!!
It turns out, A signed what they now think were affidavits or statutory declarations, swearing that they witnessed the salesman sign. These forms accompany the bill of sale to the high court. The forms do not say anything about A witnessing the debtor's signature, only the salesman's.
18 months have now passed and A remains very upset about the situation and feels violated. A is now very concerned that if somebody checks this affadavit (or whatever it is) and realises A is not a solicitor, then A will be guilty of a criminal offence (A is unsure which, but after googling, presumably 'acting as a solicitor' or 'fraud' or such like).
A has no previous convictions and is a good person, though the stress of the above led to A being unable to cope and A voluntarily surrendered their own car, thus their own logbook loan is now void as the repossession will pay off the loan.*
As bills of sale are only valid for 5 years, A is worried that in 5 years time if the bills are renewed, someone will then spot their signature in the old affidavit.*
A is also worried someone will default on their loan, or settle their loan, or challenge the loan/bill of sale, and then their signature will be spotted.
Should A go to the police, tell them about being pressured into this activity, and if so, what would happen? If A chooses not to do so, what would happen if someone discovered this?
I do not know the law so I cannot advise A, and we do not know how much each of these 9 loans they witnessed the salesman's signature on were worth. Could be 1,000 each, could be up to 50,000. Who knows. Will the court likely proceed with this case? As no doubt the salesman will deny all knowledge in which case handwriting experts etc. will need to be employed?
The salesman is slippery as a snake and I don't trust that he won't say A pretended they were a solicitor, or that A was sitting n a solicitor's firm with him or that he paid A etc (he did not) or something else to save his skin. We assume he picked A because he found out A was vulnerable
Party A obtained a legitimate logbook loan on their vehicle from a well-known company. This was circa 15 months ago. The salesman from the company was very friendly and during conversation, tried to relate to A with personal similar circumstances. A is relatively young, and under pressure. A is a law graduate but working in retail in a well-known supermarket.*
Alarm bells were ringing for me when A said this salesman was pushy, telling A to email the logbook loan company and say they were either a qualified solicitor, probation officer, doctor, nurse or similar "otherwise they wouldn't get the loan" but the company accepted A, and even though they did so, and even when A said they were unsure, the salesman sent such an email for A. The salesman also said he knew of a "secret team" who could "offer the finance if this well-known company rejected A". But that A "must never mention it"
The salesman persuaded A to sign something for other peoples' logbook loans. A did so because of the sob story the salesman gave. A signed their name, address, and either signed or circled the word 'solicitor' onto 9 of these documents because they were asked to. The salesman assured A that this was all fine and just to appease their boss. A did not know what they were signing until afterwards when the salesman said they are filed in the high court. A felt if they did not do this, their own logbook loan might be in jeopardy or cancelled. We now know that this saved the salesman money in solicitors fees!!!!
It turns out, A signed what they now think were affidavits or statutory declarations, swearing that they witnessed the salesman sign. These forms accompany the bill of sale to the high court. The forms do not say anything about A witnessing the debtor's signature, only the salesman's.
18 months have now passed and A remains very upset about the situation and feels violated. A is now very concerned that if somebody checks this affadavit (or whatever it is) and realises A is not a solicitor, then A will be guilty of a criminal offence (A is unsure which, but after googling, presumably 'acting as a solicitor' or 'fraud' or such like).
A has no previous convictions and is a good person, though the stress of the above led to A being unable to cope and A voluntarily surrendered their own car, thus their own logbook loan is now void as the repossession will pay off the loan.*
As bills of sale are only valid for 5 years, A is worried that in 5 years time if the bills are renewed, someone will then spot their signature in the old affidavit.*
A is also worried someone will default on their loan, or settle their loan, or challenge the loan/bill of sale, and then their signature will be spotted.
Should A go to the police, tell them about being pressured into this activity, and if so, what would happen? If A chooses not to do so, what would happen if someone discovered this?
I do not know the law so I cannot advise A, and we do not know how much each of these 9 loans they witnessed the salesman's signature on were worth. Could be 1,000 each, could be up to 50,000. Who knows. Will the court likely proceed with this case? As no doubt the salesman will deny all knowledge in which case handwriting experts etc. will need to be employed?
The salesman is slippery as a snake and I don't trust that he won't say A pretended they were a solicitor, or that A was sitting n a solicitor's firm with him or that he paid A etc (he did not) or something else to save his skin. We assume he picked A because he found out A was vulnerable
